Air pollution is a growing problem in most cities (big and small). The "Daily Dose" aims to disseminate the best available information on air pollution and engage in discussions to better understand the process of air quality management. For more details on the program, please visit http://www.urbanemissions.info

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

China Launches Measures to Address Urban Air Pollution

China's cabinet has outlined measures aimed at improving the country's air pollution problems, which have plagued many of its larger cities over recent years.

One
of the main measures, announced in state media over the weekend, is a
target to reduce emissions from heavily polluting industries by 30% by
the end of 2017. In statement after a meeting chaired by Premier Li
Keqiang, the State Council said there would be "tough measures for tough
tasks".

In January and February 2013 air pollution levels in the
capitial Beijing and a number of other cities rose to what are believed
to have been record levels. Dubbed the 'airpocalypse', Beijing was shrouded in a thick cloud of smog.
On more than one occasion the US embassy in the city, which monitors
air quality and publishes the results on a Twitter feed, described the
levels as "beyond index".
The new measures do not outline which
industries would be included in the 30% target. However, in February in
response to the air pollution crisis and a high level of public outcry,
the government announced that six heavily polluting industries including
iron and steel, cement and petrochemicals would have to comply with
"special" emission limits from the start of March. Details of the limits
were unclear.

Another of the new measures announced is to
"enhance control" of PM2.5 pollution, which are fine particulates that
measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter. The Chinese authorities only
started to measure this type of pollution in Beijing in October 2012.
This type of pollution is considered particularly dangerous to health
as the fine particles can lodge deep within the lungs and enter the
bloodstream. The statement said that a ranking of air quality in major
cities should be made public.
Ten measures were outlined by the State Council including:

Emergency
response plans to be carried out by local governments during periods of
bad pollution which include restricting traffic and limiting emissions
from industry.

"Strict controls" for heavily polluting industries that are looking to expand.

Ensuring that construction projects pass environmental evaluations before they are given permission to go ahead.

Previously
concerns have been raised about the enforcement of environmental
policies and regulations by local officials. Under the new measures, the
State Council said that local governments will be held accountable and
their performance assessed on reducing air pollution.
The statement acknowledged that air pollution is an increasingly "conspicious and discussed problem". It also stated that:

"Curbing air pollution is a complicated and systematic project that requires long and arduous efforts."

The
Chinese administration under President Xi Jinping has pledged to deal
with the problem of pollution. Earlier this in June, Vice Premier Zhang
Gaoli in a speech at the Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu said the government would take action, especially in relation to reducing PM2.5 pollution.
He said:

"We
will attach greater importance to addressing problems resulting from
environmental pollution, and strike a proper balance between optimizing
economic structure, boosting development that is driven by science and
technological innovation, and conserving resources and protecting the
environment. We are determined to make long-term and unremitting efforts
to solve the problem."

the
average daily concentration median of heavy metal arsenic in Beijing's
PM2.5 was 23.08 nanograms per metre cubed. According to Ambient Air
Quality Standards issued in February 2012, the annual mean reference
concentration limit value is 6 ng/m3, meaning the concentration detected
during the course of this research is 3.85 times the limit. During
heavy pollution days, the concentration median reached 34.68 ng/m3, and
the highest average daily concentration during this period reached 70.91
ng/m3.

It also found that for four days during the
15-day testing period the concentration of cadmium rose above the annual
limit value and two days in which lead concentration rose above the
limit level.
Beijing did not fare well in comparison to other cities around the world:

Compared
to previous research, the arsenic concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing is
constantly at a high level. And while the levels of this period are
lower than previous, it is still significantly higher than other
international cities.